Jesus Christ is the Head of this humble table. May He be Praised, and Honored by the discussion here in His Holy Presence.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

An Independent Scotland?

A recent white paper by the new First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, has that corner of the UK buzzing with winds of change. Salmond is a committed left-winger who is opposed to Scottish support of "US-UK imperial ventures" and would like to see Scotland move further away from its ties with the big neighbor to its south.

... our manifesto for the Scottish Parliamentary elections this year promised to provide an opportunity for the people to consider the concept of Scottish independence in a referendum during this Parliament.

In that [recent May 2007] election, the people voted clearly for further development of the way we govern ourselves in Scotland. We in the Government believe that independence would be the best for our country. Others support increased devolution, or greater responsibility for taxes and spending, or federalism. But whatever the differences between the political parties, the message of the election was obvious - the constitutional position of Scotland must move forward.

This trend in Scotland away from "big brother" is an interesting apparent contradiction to liberalism in the US, which would increase dependence on a strong central authority and its programs. Both have at their heart an interest in humanist objectives, yet the Scottish seem to recognize this opportunity in breaking away from the powers that be, while the American liberals focus on increasing the powers that be. Both want to distance themselves from "imperialism"; but both also seem to have a blind eye toward the activities of those who may not share their fundamental faith in man.

An independent Scotland? If history can reverse itself like that, is the possibility of "Republica del Norte" that far-fetched?